Conventional nut formers have machine bodies having a plurality of dies arranged in sequence thereon, and opposite the dies, a ram having a plurality of punches equal in number to the number of dies and arranged to carry the punches so that when the ram advances, each punch will act upon the nut blanks in the corresponding die to produce a formed nut blank. The feeding and transferring device for the nut blanks generally comprise clamping mechanisms provided on the lower end of a rod having its axis perpendicular to a line drawn between the center points of two adjacent dies. After clamping the workpiece, the rod makes a turn of 180.degree., thereby turning the clamping arm and causing the workpieces to be transferred to the next adjacent dies in preparation for the next punching operation. This operation requires a feeding device of a very complicated construction. Further, such a feeding device must wait until the ram has retracted before it can begin the transfer operation. Moreover, the clamping arm is provided at a right angle to the lower end of the perpendicular shaft and must make a left to right turn of 180.degree. making the distance of travel between two dies relatively long. The complex mechanical movements are easily affected by inertia effects and are sometimes unstable, thereby preventing high speed operation.